Appiah wants Koufie but committee prefers foreigner

Coach Kwasi Appiah’s bid to get veteran Ben Koufie as his technical advisor faces a formidable challenge from 10 expatriates who have applied for the job and, indications are that, the venerable Koufie will be drowned by the sheer weight of the pedigree of his foreign counterparts.

Appiah, whose job as head coach of the Black Stars hangs precariously, as he last week agreed to a Ghana Football Association (GFA) promptings to recruit a technical advisor to help him particularly as the qualifiers of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations approach.

The move to hire a technical advisor, according to the GFA, was in compliance with an advice by the Ministry of Youth and Sports that the technical team of the Black Stars needed to be strengthened.

Subsequently, Appiah, according to sources, opted for one-time Black Stars coach, Koufie, as the man he felt comfortable working with. Besides, he (Appiah) was said to have explained that his choice was informed by the solidarity he had enjoyed from the local coaches since he took up the job two years ago.

Already, 82-year-old Koufie, a former Chairman of the GFA between 2001 and 2005, has expressed his readiness to work with Appiah if given the opportunity.

Meanwhile, the three-member committee, comprising GFA vice-president Fred Crentsil (chairman), FA’s technical director, Francis Oti-Akenten and former FA vice-president, Fred Pappoe, are reported to be in favour of the engagement of a foreigner.

The committee, which was set up to hunt for a technical advisor, is expected to announce at an Executive Committee meeting today its shortlist out of the 11 applicants who submitted their CVs for the job.